The thought experiment asks why the Royal Navy should build different patrol, survey, oceanography, and mine-warfare ships if modules define their missions. A common hull might carry a 76 mm gun, storage, signals-intelligence equipment, or extra air defence according to its task. Joint British-Danish adoption could attract more attention after the Falklands, while Dutch links to both navies make Dutch participation likely in this scenario. Existing multinational ship programs would provide further connections to potential partners. A configurable payload standard could reduce Horizon-style disputes over radar systems, VLS choice, and the number of launch cells. A common small-ship fleet could cover fisheries protection, maritime security, oceanography, and mine warfare with one training pool. Maintainers would support one basic hull type, allowing the navy to concentrate more stores on that class.
Chapter · 49:34-54:08
One modular small-ship class for patrol, survey, and mine warfare
If mission equipment moves between standardized slots, separate OPV, survey, and mine-warfare hulls could give way to a common small-ship fleet with simpler training and support.